Men's Fencing

Men’s Fencing Places Third at New England Championship

Feb 26, 2012

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – With a record of 62-24, the MIT men's fencing team finished third of 11 teams at the New England Championship hosted by Vassar College on Saturday. Sophomore Ehsan Izadmehr (Wayne, N.J.) registered the best individual outing for the Engineers as he placed fifth overall in the sabre competition. He compiled a 7-3 ledger in the A pool and went 4-1 in semifinal action before posting a 2-3 mark in the final round.

The epee unit comprised of sophomore Joseph Rafidi (Los Angeles, Calif.), junior Jackson Crane (San Francisco, Calif.), and freshman David Wyrobnik (Frankfurt am Main, Germany) ranked second with a total of 22-6. Rafidi and Crane claimed seventh and eighth place as they had 9-1 outings in the A and B pools, respectively, and both won two of their five bouts in the semifinals. Wyrobnik rounded out the group with a tally of 4-4 in the C pool.

The foil team captured third place behind the strength of a 22-7 record. Senior Benjamin Nield (Preston, Wash.) led the way with a seventh-place finish after emerging from the B pool with a 7-3 ledger and a 2-3 performance in semifinal action. In the A pool, senior Daniel Levine (Succasunna, N.J.) compiled a mark of 8-2 and followed that up with a 2-3 total in the semifinals en route to a ninth-place ranking. Junior Alexander Siy bolstered the Engineers' cause by going 7-2 in the C pool.

Izadmehr's outstanding performance helped propel the sabre squad to a fifth-place ranking and a record of 18-11. Senior Vinayak Ramesh (El Dorado Hills, Calif.) went 6-4 in the B pool while sophomore Luke O'Malley (Los Angeles, Calif.) came in at 5-4 in the C pool.

Next up for MIT will be the NCAA Regional Championship to be held on Saturday, March 10 at Boston College. Thomas Boning, Crane, Izadmehr, Levine, Nield, Rafidi, Ramesh, Siy, and Wyrobnik will represent the Engineers at the qualifier for the NCAA Championship.